"Each time a person stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, out strikes out against injustice, they send forth a tiny ripple of hope.
And crossing each other from a million different centres of energy and daring, those ripples build a current, which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance."
ROBERT F. KENNEDY
Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights UK exists to inspire and empower people to make decisions and take actions every day that will help make human rights reality for all - to become ripples of hope in their communities and across the world.
In 1968, Robert F. Kennedy announced his candidacy for the Presidency of the United States. His campaign called on us to envision and work for a world in which the dignity of every human being is honoured and respected; in which we value one another and realise our own power to shape the future.
We are at a critical moment in British and global history. We need to nurture a culture that is built on our shared humanity.
The universal concept of human rights that Robert F. Kennedy championed is essential to that effort.
Human rights – the best articulation and codification humanity has ever found for the fundamental interests of people – set out what society should deliver for people and can be a guide to be used and acted on in everyday decision-making, until they are made a reality for all.
And yet, we know that for many in the UK, human rights feel remote – they are for others but not for me. Demonstrating the relevance and importance of human rights is the challenge in front of us.
And so we deliver artistic, educational and cultural programmes that tell a relevant, local story of human rights and celebrate the countless organisations that do the incredible work of making human rights a reality to inspire and build long-term cultural change.
WHAT WE DO
A transformative education programme that inspires students to understand that they have the power
within them to make human rights a reality.
A unique new festival, coming in September 2021,
that celebrates the power of people
to make human rights a reality and be ripples of hope.
The Ripples of Hope
An annual leadership development summit for senior decision-makers to consider their role, and that of their organisation, in creating a more human world in a time of unrelenting disruption.
SPEAK TRUTH TO POWER
HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION PROGRAMME
In 1948
-RECOVERING FROM WORLD WAR II -
THE WORLD CAME TOGETHER
TO MAKE
THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
WHO WE ARE
OUR PATRONS
Rt Hon Ruth Davidson MSP
Baroness Helena Kennedy QC
Lord Rumi Verjee CBE
OUR BOARD
Dr Mark Ellis
Kerry Kennedy
Eric Levine
Paul Lindley OBE (Chair)
Patricia McCall
Hina Patel
Stella Smith
Peter Thompson
Nizam Uddin
Andrew Wincel
OUR TEAM
Sughra Ahmed
Director, Speak Truth To Power
Maria Bota OBE
Director of the Artistic Programme, Ripples of Hope Festival
Rachele Evaroa
Community Engagement Manager, Ripples of Hope Festival
Jude Kelly CBE
Artistic Director, Ripples of Hope Festival
Dennis Marcus
Executive Director
Laura Marcus
Business Development & Operations Director
AFFILIATION: We are proud and honoured to be affiliated to, and be building on the work of, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights in the US, which is led by Kerry Kennedy and was founded after Robert F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign in 1968 by his family and friends as a means to dedicate themselves to a common goal: achieving Bobby’s dream of a more just and peaceful world.
To find out more, visit www.rfkhumanrights.org
THE ORGANISATION: Founded in June 2018, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights UK is incorporated in the UK as a limited company (11397556) and registered with the Charity Commission of England & Wales (1181744).
Join us
to make human rights
a reality for all.
If you are interested in the work of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights UK, please sign up to our email updates below.
If you or your organisation would like to get involved in some way, please email us at hello@rfkhumanrights.uk
Please note that while of course we know there are a lot of organisations doing unbelievably important work, we are not a grant-making organisation. Thanks!
